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Monday, May 23, 2011

Recipes - Potato Salad

There are probably as many potato salad recipes as there are cooks, but I suppose it won’t hurt to put down a few more:

Classic Potato Salad

I had been trying to make a potato salad that tasted “original” – simple, familiar, more in the range of comfort food that more inventive display, and I finally found it, made by my mother’s caretaker. The key ingredient? Sweet relish.

* 5-6 medium/large Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, quartered

* 3 lg. Tbsp. mayonnaise

* 2 Tbsp. sour cream or whole milk yoghurt

* 1 Tbsp. mustard (any kind – I guess since this is original, it should be Gulden’s)

* 3 Tbsp. sweet pickle relish

- Boil the potatoes until a fork can be poked into them, but they should not be soft. There will be some additional cooking once you take them off the stove and cool them, so they should be a bit firm to the touch.

- Drain the potatoes, and rinse them in very cold water 3-4 times to cool them off and stop the cooking. Cut each of the quartered pieces in half. Cooking too small pieces of potato is risky because they may cook too quickly and get soft, so I prefer the extra work at the end

- Mix the ingredients of the dressing in the bowl in which you are going to serve the potato salad, and add salt and pepper to taste

- Add the potatoes, mix well, and chill

Classic Potato Salad #2

This is the potato salad I always used to make when I was trying to figure out the key ingredients of “original” potato salad. It is good and not sweet:

* 5-6 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered

* 1/2 red onion, coarsely chopped

* 1 bunch parsley, chopped

* 1 Tbsp. capers

* 1 Tbsp. Maille mustard

* 3 Tbsp. mayonnaise

* 2 Tbsp. sour cream or while milk yoghurt

* 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

* 1 Tbsp. sugar

- As above, quarter, boil potatoes until tender but not soft

- Drain 3-4 times with cold water, drain, and cut each quarter in half

- Mix dressing ingredients in serving bowl and mix well

- Add potatoes and onion

- Mix well, chill in refrigerator, and serve

Potato Salad with Spices and Chutney

This takes the basic ingredients – mayo, mustard, sour cream or yoghurt – but adds a lot of different spices. The unusual combination of sweet mango chutney, tuna, and anchovy – salt and sweet - gives a particularly interesting flavor